No comments about Black & Decker Complete Guide to Contemporary Sheds: Complete plans for 12 Sheds, Including Garden Outbuilding, Storage Lean-to, Playhouse, Woodland Cottage, ... Tractor Barn (Black & Decker Complete Guide).

4 comments about Great Garages, Sheds & Outdoor Buildings: 145 Projects You Can Build.

1. This book offers a very extraordinary group of ideas in the form of sketches, however that is as far as you will get with the 101 projects you can build yourself. Each project has a plan number that requires the speculative do-it-yourselfer to spend 20 to 85 dollars on a blueprint that most profesional builders won't even touch. In summary, the plans are too complicated for the weekend warrior, and the materials needed to build these elaberate structures will blow any do-it-your-selfers budget. You can get some good ideas from this book, but that is it.



2. if you're looking for the basic garage or outbuilding book this is not it....too big , too contemporary.... also it should be called the garage plan sourcebook. as there are no actual plans...just sources



3. This book gives you a large variety of designs and styles to consider. It was just what we were looking for! We were able to combine a couple of ideas to build the perfect garage/guest house! Our builder had no problem just using the pictures and diagrams from the book. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you can order the plans. (Everyone in the neighborhood compliments our new guest house/garage!



4. This book is basically a list of plans for sale by the Hanley Wood Company. Most of the designs look rather dated to me, I would guess many of these were designed in the 1960's and 70's. I didn't find any particularly interesting or useful ideas here, most designs were either very simple or much too ornate & contrived for my taste. It's rather misleading to call this a "book" and say it was "wriitten by" and author, it is really more of a large sales brochure dressed up as a paperback book.

3 comments about The Ultimate Guide to Above-Ground Pools.

1. I own all of Tamminen's excellent books on pools, spas, and hot tubs. I am not a pool professional, but I do like to build and install and maintain. Knowing how to fix and build things saves money, and this book in particular has made me the go-to guy in the neighborhood. This book has never let me down with any question I had. I recommend it to anyone with an above-ground pool (or someone with a lot of neighbors with them).



2. I had an ordinary fiberglass people for years and decided to build one using a vinyl liner in a deep navy blue. Our pool has a glass wall around and it's just gorgeous. So now with this book, we can see the care that goes into our pool is quite different than the concrete or fiberglass ones. The writer makes sure to use easy terminology and makes his directions as clear as the water you will get with this book. Great info.



3. This book is exactly what its title claims it to be. It is everything you need to know about building and maintaining an above-ground pool. I "inherited" an old pool when buying an old house, and had no experience with pools before. With this book I was able to install a new filter, a new liner, and assess the viability for solar heat for my location. It also offers the basics of daily maintenance and startup and close-down for the seasons. Everything you could ever need to know is here, is easy to find, and logically and clearly presented. Even the total novice can make good use of this guide. Terry Tamminen is a real hero to this single mom who wanted to figure out how to offer the fun of an above ground pool for a seven-year-old boy--now ten, and fully enjoying the summer fun of the pool!

No comments about Complete Deck Book (Sunset Books).

1 comments about Start-to-Finish Patios.

1. This guide, with instructions fully illustrated in color, will give you many ideas about how to plan the right patio, whether you build it yourself or hire a contractor to do the work. It could even be useful for ideas about adding plantings and minor improvements to existing patios." (summary by South TX Library System)
   If you want to build a retaining wall or add water features, this book will get you started. Make your patio area a welcoming space that gets your family outdoors more. Don't spend your summer trapped inside the house with the air conditioning and TV.

No comments about 1001 Ideas for Decks (1001 Ideas).

1 comments about Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties: And How to Build Them.

1. My, how we've changed over the years. In the classic book Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties: And How to Build Them, D. C. Beard covers the wide array of possibilities for building your own dwelling out of nothing but materials provided by nature. This was originally published in 1914, and I think it's more interesting to observe the changes in culture than anything else.
   
   Daniel Beard became fascinated with cabins and such in 1864 when he exhibited a saddleback cabin scaled down to size for him to carry to the fair. He sold it for $7.50, which was a major disappointment to him, as he thought it worth much more. That started him on his journey to sketch, document, and build just about any type of natural dwelling you can think of. He starts out with how to make a soft sleeping platform using pine boughs. From there, you have half-cave shelters, fallen tree shelters, and teepee-like structures. By the end of the book, we're dealing with full-scale houses, obviously beyond the skills of the boy scouts he tends to target in the first half of the book. But even then, the emphasis is on using logs and axes to accomplish most of the work.
   
   Most of these skills are lost on 99% of Americans, and sending out a group of boys to build even the simplest of these structures would likely turn into a disaster. But back when this was written, it was pretty much assumed that most boys had basic scouting skills and would be able to build some of these shelters in just a matter of hours, or at most a couple of days. He even has them building hogan shelters built into the side of a hill and designed to last a considerable time. These days, we'd likely freak out because the kids had an axe or a shovel in their hands... And building a shelter covered by sod? But what if it collapses??? Needless to say, we wouldn't fare well if forced to rely on our own skills to survive without our comfortable houses.
   
   If you're an outdoors-type person and you want to work on survival skills, this would be an interesting way to start out. Or if you're just looking for how much we've changed (or regressed) in the last 100 years, this'll point out many areas that fall into that category.

1 comments about 101 Cool Pool Games for Children: Fun and Fitness for Swimmers of All Levels (SmartFun Activity Books).

1. Reviewed by Tammy Petty Conrad for Reader Views (6/07)
   
   It's summer time and every kid is begging to hang out at the neighborhood pool. As cool as it is, they can sometimes run out of fun things to do before they are ready to return indoors. This is where "101 Cool Pool Games for Children" comes in. You probably remember playing "Marco Polo" from your own childhood. But do you know "Piranha Tag" or "Snatch the Bait?" There is no chance your kids will not have fun and still be safe when you bring this book to the pool along with your snacks and sunscreen.
   
   As a certified fitness instructor, the author, Kim Rodomista, looks at pool time as a healthy way to play and get exercise. She has organized the games in ways to show how many players are involved, what props might be necessary, if there is any physical contact involved and what skill level is required. The appropriate icons are listed with each game. The list is also categorized by whether they are imagination, individual, out-of-the-pool, racing, tag or team games. They are even indexed by group size for your convenience. There are games for every size pool and are appropriate for ages four and older.
   
   I love the idea of the book and can imagine almost as many uses for it as there are games! What if you are planning a pool birthday party and need some activities to keep everyone happy till the cake arrives, or, if you have signed up to be a camp counselor for the summer, or, you are just tired of diving for toys in the pool? Older children will want to thumb through this to pick their own games.
   
   The author has also provided a section with water exercises to keep parents busy once their children are busy with "Underwater Rugby." As much as I love lounging in the pool, I can't help but feel slightly decadent. Now I can workout and be redeemed from my laziness, although I'm not sure how funny I'll look doing the "Popcorn" down the length of the pool and back.
   
   As a future teacher, Rodomista caught my attention with the Albert Einstein quote, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." I find "101 Cool Pool Games for Children" provides the necessary knowledge to pick appropriate and safe pool games and also perks up my imagination when it has been fried by the sun. Now it's time to dig out my swimsuit and start splashing!

No comments about The Black & Decker Complete Guide Maintain Your Pool & Spa: Repair & Upkeep Made Easy (Black & Decker Complete Guide).

5 comments about Patio: Garden Design & Inspiration.

1. This book is an excellent sourse of inspiration for the garden designer who is tired of traditional garden design. Jamie Durie explores new materials and plant selections in a way that is comfortable and exciting. A must read for those of us who are tired of English garden design!



2. I must admit that I wasn't expecting much from Jamie Durie, knowing him mainly for his home renovation shows in Australia.
   However, after much searching through countless books on garden design in bookstores, I found his books to be far and away the best I've seen.
   His designs are very modern and innovative and the book gives a lot of insight into the design and construction process. Backgrounds and reasoning on particular choices made and goes into detail on subjects such as lighting, plants and materials.
   I own quite a few garden design books and I would definately rate this the best I've seen and just about every design in his books I would rate amongst the best I've seen.



3. This is the best of Durie's books and is an excellent companion for the California garden designer. The plans are helpful for understanding the layout of a garden, but the photos are what really make the book. The light modern style, clever detailing, and CA compatible plants give me new ideas every time I open it.



4. A definite must have. This is by far one of the best inspiring books for outdoor designs. If you are looking for something modern, minimalist, different from ordinary, don't look any further and buy this book. I designed my own terrace thanks to the great ideas and inspiration by Jamie Durie.



5. I've bought that book 'cause I'm planning to transform a small corner of my garden into a nice patio. But this book is about balconies, sky gardens, decks, pools, back yards, seaside retreats, etc...Nothing about patios!!! If you're looking for ideas for your patio, this probably isn't a good book for you.